By Kellie Houx, Editor of KC Studio
The Kansas City Museum could be part of a series if public television’s “This Old House” wanted to take on the 100-year-old mansion. Remember, the mission of the show is “to demystify the home improvement process and to celebrate the fusion of old world craftsmanship and modern technology.” That is exactly what the museum staff and contractors are trying to do – retrofit a former family mansion built in 1910 to become a viable city museum of 2010.
Breakfast Room (then and now)
Initially the mansion belonged to lumber baron Robert A. Long and his family. This expansive residence was built in what might be considered the first suburb or Kansas City, settled by some of the more affluent residents after the Civil War. Long started work on his mansion in 1906 and construction took place from 1907 to 1910. The mansion is 30,000 square feet and was designed by local architect Henry Hoit to include gardens, stables and a carriage house. Not only leading in the lumber industry, Long became the founding president of the Liberty Memorial Association after the end of World War I.
Dining Room (then and now)
The Long family lived in the mansion until Long’s death in 1934 when they held an auction of many ornate objects and furniture. His daughter and horse enthusiast, Loula Long Combs, moved many household items and her stables out to Longview Farms. The Long daughters, Sallie Ellis and Combs, left the estate vacant for five years. Finally, in 1939, the Kansas City Museum Association was gifted Corinthian Hall so the daughters could get out from the tax burden caused by the estate.
Grand Hall (then and now)
“That led to this 70-year period of transformation. It really is a site in transition,” says Museum Director Christopher Leitch. “The move to go from a private house to a public institution has been piece meal. In a sense, I have been given permission to make new adjustments because of the previous decades of work.” The museum association deeded the building to the City of Kansas City in 1948. The residence and estate were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2000, the museum merged with Union Station Kansas City Inc.
Library (then and now)
The house, 70 rooms and closets and 15 baths on three floors, attic and full basement included ornate European-style décor. “When the museum opened in the 1940s, visitors saw this house as reminiscent of their grandparents’ time. Our visitors today want to know about the time period of the Longs. They want to understand how Kansas City was a hub for the lumber industry as people moved west. It was a hub for industrial and processed dry goods. The rail lines in Kansas City moved goods west,” Leitch says.
Salon (then and now)
Through the 1950s and 60s, the house was transformed into exhibit space for regional history. Leitch says there are about 150 museums currently that offer these kinds of exhibits. “Now, we want to redo what was undone and look at this area through the lens of this family. The last exhibit here was a pioneer story and that story can be found at Shoal Creek Living History Museum or National Frontier Trails Museum. We can be more general.”
The retrofitting is underway. Leitch says the plan is to have the building serve the public with better electrical wiring, plumbing and heating/air conditioning. The HVAC will consist of three high efficiency boilers. “The trick is to balance the historic nature and sumptuousness, but also create the exhibit space to offer Kansas City history,” Leitch says. “Some of the rooms will be restored to their former glory. On the first floor, the dining room will be restored as well as the sunroom and the salon. However, we are not creating a ‘velvet rope’ experience.” Another first floor room will be the resource library so visitors and historians can come for research.
The second floor will be committed to galleries with a timeline of Kansas City and the related exhibits. “We are taking what was 70 rooms and renovating the space to fewer than 30 rooms for exhibits and programs.” The second floor servant quarters will be transformed into a workroom. “We need the backstage, so to speak, to support our operations,” Leitch says. “This museum will not be a habitat diorama, but a public institution that speaks to history and scholarship.”
The Kansas City Museum is like “This Old House” and the program staff’s efforts to save older houses. The museum staff is doing just the same, Leitch says, with great help from the public. “The city has committed $10 million to the project. It will be restored with a mosaic of public and private funding to have the custom work done.” Within the furnishings collection, there are several artifacts that are considered for conservation through the Friends of Kansas City Museum’s Adopt-an-Artifact program. This year, the choices are a settee (the sofa used by the Long family in the salon), the console tables (18th century antique tables possibly of French or German origin that also sat in the salon) and the floor screen (Aubusson tapestry three-fold floor screen purchased in Europe and divided the room between the fireplace and the grand piano). The Friends of the Kansas City Museum are supporting the effort. “It’s going to take time, but this old house will find its place again,” Leitch says.
On KCPT, “This Old House House” can be found on KCPT 19.1 HD Sunday afternoons from 2- 3 p.m.
